Welcome to Insider Out Travel, a blog about LGBT travel written by LGBT tourism professionals. Travel the globe and gain insight into the tourism industry (with a gay twist), brought to you by the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Welcome to South Africa!

An hour after arriving in South Africa, I found myself driving along the highway looking ahead at the cloudy, hazy skyline of Johannesburg. This was the first moment I thought to myself, “Wow, this country is majestically beautiful.” We were told that the drive from the airport to the resort of Sun City would be uneventful – boring even. I have to say it was anything but. This country is spectacular in terms of physical beauty and that is extremely obvious even though I’ve been here a mere seven hours. We landed in rain from a wonderful flight on South African Airways. Seeing the clouds and rain, my initial thoughts were slight disappointment, that the day would somehow be less than perfect because of the weather. Once we stepped outside it was clear that the cloudiness was part of the summer-time charm. Coming from Florida and DC, it was nice to feel that familiar humid feeling that comes with summer – just new to feel it in February. Still, the light rain created a semi-thick, comforting mist over the land. We drove over rocky hills full of brush vegetation and every corner we turned took my breath away. The roads around Johannesburg and Pretoria were packed and it was interesting to see a few villages as we drove around. My favorite thing to do when I come to a new country is to drive around, and it was nice to be able to do that. On the way we also saw a couple of very impoverished looking towns full of smiling people walking around. It is crazy to see the juxtaposition between that and where I’m sitting right now. We are staying at Sun International’s Palace of the Lost City and I must say it’s exquisite. It makes themed resorts in the US such as Disney and Las Vegas look small and insignificant. The elegance and luxury abounds and the grounds look spectacular. I can’t wait to explore them more tomorrow. We met the PR & Sales Executive tonight and she said she would take us around the grounds on a site inspection and I’m very intrigued to see what other rooms look like and what more this resort has to offer. The only drawback is the lack of Internet in the guest rooms (I won’t be able to post this until tomorrow), but I suppose one isn’t looking to work when staying at a resort. I feel like this country is going to sweep me off my feet in the coming days, and I will be sure to fill you in on the details. Please pardon the pictures, by the way, they were taken from inside the van!